


Safe

by Writingishardman



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26038831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writingishardman/pseuds/Writingishardman
Summary: It seems like even venturing out to the Isle of Armour doesn't keep demons from Bede's past away. After several months the echoes of Rose's influence still resonate through his heart and mind as he finds himself facing unpleasant memories during his trek through Challenge Road. Luckily for him, Gloria is there to anchor him and share understanding.
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	Safe

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to build on the interaction between the player and Bede when you talk to him on Challenge Road. The fact that he seemingly regrets what he did at Stow-on-Side had me screaming because AAAAHHHHHHHHHH, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

Something about the rocky hills brought back rather unpleasant memories for Bede but something else seems to glue him to the spot as he looks at the bare stone faces. 

The way the stone could crumble, just as easily as his dreams had. For so long he had pushed the memory to the back of his mind. He didn't need that weighing him down everyday. He knows he made a mistake, it was frustrating that it was a mistake he had no hope of rectifying.

Being where he is now though, would he really want to go back and change what he had done? Instead of being the Gym Leader of Ballonlea where would he be now had he not destroyed that mural? Would he really be Champion like he had wanted? With the amount of times Gloria has beaten him now it seemed unlikely that he would have beaten her in the Champion's Cup, that much was proven from his defeat at her hands when he had challenged her before the finals.

His stomach twists as he thinks about what would have happened to him had he been at the Chairman's side when he unleashed Eternatus. If he had then managed to escape with his life like Rose did, where would he be instead of at Ballonlea Stadium as its new leader? Would he be locked up like Rose? Or would he have ended up like Oleana? Attempting but never succeeding in picking up the pieces?

"Bede? Bede! It is you! Hey!"

Bede is snapped from his thoughts at the sound of a familiar voice. Turning away from the tall stone walls around the wooden tower he looks to find Gloria and her Cinderace trudging up the slope. The Champion looked a little worse for wear as her partner strode unaffected beside her. He can't help the grin that crosses his lips.

"Ah, it's you. As the Champion of Galar I didn't expect you to find such a challenge in climbing up a simple hill," he calls to her, arms crossing over his chest as he looks to the girl with barely hidden amusement.

"Oh, ha-ha!" She replies sarcastically. "I'll have you know I've been running all over this island collecting Watts, thank you very little!"

Bede looks at her curiously but doesn't voice his question instead turning back to the stone hills again.

"What are you doing all the way up here anyway?" comes the question from Gloria as she comes to stand next to the Gym Leader.

Bede remains silent for a moment longer, looking at Hatterene who seems to greet Gloria's Cinderace as if the two were good longtime friends.

His mind momentarily wanders to his relationship with Gloria, how even after his bitter treatment of her she continued her attempts in befriending him. He never seemed to understand Gloria, but for a frustrating and complicated reason she somehow always seemed to understand him. He tried to hide all that he was from people but she had a knack for looking right through the walls he had built for himself.

He was frustrated yet relieved that this was the case.

"This place," he finally speaks as he gazes back up at the tall stone, Gloria's eyes following his line of sight. "It reminds me of that town. . . " he sighs.

Gloria remains silent, sending an acknowledging glance in his direction. "Stow-on-Side, you mean?" she asks in a soft voice.

A small noise of affirmation leaves Bede's throat as his arms fall to his sides, fingers flexing.

There was that feeling again. Like he was about to explode from all of the thoughts and emotions coursing through him as memories flash through his mind.

Only now that feeling was accompanied by that vulnerability that Gloria seemed to create in him. She made him feel too open, too exposed. As if everything he was thinking and feeling was put on display and she was there reading the plaques, knowing everything without him having to say a word.

The harder he tries to suppress the feelings brought by his memories the more he wants to speak out to her about them.

How frustrating. He never felt the need to confide in anyone before, but then here comes Gloria and he can't help the yearning feeling in his heart to spill it all out to her.

"Gosh, what was I playing at when I destroyed that thing?" the words escape his lips, gaze dropping to the ground.

Gloria next to him remains silent, but he can sense the buzzing of thoughts in her mind.

"I didn't think that was something you looked back on," she admits quietly.

"I normally try to forget it," he grumbles in response. "It wasn't necessarily my brightest moment."

"What do you mean?"

He pauses again. His defenses scream at him to not give in and tell her about everything going through his mind. Then there was that part of him that just couldn't fight against Gloria's good intentions, begging him to be open with her.

"That was when it all changed," he says after a few more heartbeats. "And while it pains me to admit that perhaps I made a mistake, it becomes even more frustrating when I think about how it is a mistake I cannot fix."

He can feel her gaze on him, thoughtful and warm. More words bubble up in the back of his throat, part of him still doing its best to refrain from showing Gloria any vulnerability.

"Then," he breathes finally. "Then there's this part of me that isn't sorry. Glad that it all went as it did because had I not been pulled from the Gym Challenge, would I be the trainer- the Gym Leader that I am today? Had I remained in the Gym Challenge, had I become Champion as I had wanted for-" he was about to say that man’s name, the word catching in his throat. "-him, where would I be instead?"

Gloria remains thoughtfully silent. Bede can tell she wants to ask something but she instead holds her tongue. As Bede looks at her it is then her turn to look at the ground.

"What is it?" he asks, his voice void of its usual bite. "If there is something you want to say then just say it," he adds as he attempts to reinstate his normal tone.

Gloria's eyes turn to him again, dark brown hesitantly snapping from him and to an uninteresting spot on the stony ground.

"Do you regret it because of. . ." she begins, her voice trailing off, unable to say the name that he himself fought to forget.

It often escapes his mind that the former chairman had also caused some unpleasant experiences for the Champion, both current and former. His heart aches in regret as he remembers that he put a hand in the events that had caused the girl pain.

The events that had almost cost the girl her life.

He wouldn't wish the harmful things that man had done upon anyone else. Much less on someone as significant to him as the Champion. 

There was that feeling again. The vulnerability that showed itself in her presence. The dams holding back his emotions and thoughts crumbling as the words soon cascade from his mouth.

"I thought that I was over this," he admits. "I shouldn't care about him anymore. It shouldn't mean anything to me."

He turns away from Gloria, fighting the frustrating watering of his eyes and the unwelcome tightening of his throat.

"When I was part of the Gym Challenge all I had wanted was to become Champion so then everyone could see just how talented of a trainer I am. To prove that I-" _wasn't a worthless child abandoned by his family,_ he almost says, but he builds his wall again as he swallows the dead words on his tongue. "If I could prove to him that I was strong enough to defeat and become the Champion then perhaps I could have returned the favor for him taking me in. Ironic that he then instead casted me aside,” he says with a small laugh of dark amusement. “All I ever wanted was-" _for others to see me and realize that I have value, that I am not insignificant._ "To show the world just how amazing of a trainer I really am."

A small laugh from Gloria prompts him to turn and focus on her again.

"Why are you laughing?" he demands.

"It's just funny to me that you still managed to reach your goal despite the huge turn you took in the middle is all," she replies. "I'm pretty sure the entire region knows by now that you are a force to be reckoned with,” she adds, the sincerity in her words reflecting clearly in her eyes. “Even if you are beyond difficult as a person,” she finishes with a teasing tone and playful smile.

He thinks about her words for a moment, his mind wandering back to Ballonlea, to Ms. Opal and his Pokemon.

He thinks about _home_.

"Right," he murmurs. "I'd have to disagree though and say that the difficult one here is you," he continues as he mirrors the Champion’s tone and returns with his own smile, Gloria rolling her eyes playfully at him.

Part of him had expected a serious jab of some sort from her. Being so open and vulnerable to her as he was would have made it easy for her to judge him. Easy for her to criticize and question why he hadn't done more or why he hadn't done something different. 

A comfortable silence falls between them, both lost in thoughts only known to them.

It's then he realizes that he doesn't feel vulnerable around the Champion.

No. 

He feels safe around Gloria.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this seems a bit all over the place, I kinda wrote this all in one go and didn't really edit it too much. Thanks for reading!


End file.
